CM back after throat surgery; mins brief him on dengue, chikungunya

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is back in Delhi, after his throat surgery. He met Water minister Kapil Mishra and Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who briefed him about dengue and chikungunya scare in the national Capital.

They also apprised him that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had ordered Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to return immediately from Finland. Sisodia is on his way back. They reportedly told Kejriwal that if the LG needed any information related to health measures being adopted by the government to check the spread dengue and chikungunya, then he should have asked for the health minister and not ordered Sisodia to curtail his visit.

According to sources, Mishra and Jain told Kejriwal that dengue and chikungunya are under control in the city. The ministers said that 1,500 beds were available in government-run hospitals for patients suffering from vector-borne diseases. Jain also briefed the CM about his meeting with Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

Kejriwal returned to the Capital from Bengaluru on Sunday, after undergoing a throat surgery for his persistent cough. He had had gone to Bengaluru on September 13 and the surgery took place the next day to correct an anatomical abnormality of his oral-pharyngeal and palatal area. Before leaving for Delhi, Kejriwal thanked doctors of the hospital, where he underwent the surgery. "Discharged today after surgery. Thank u so much Kiranji, Dr Shetty n Dr Paul. Can't express my gratitude in words (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

“He is doing well, there is no problem. He is able to talk, but we are restricting him,” officials at the Narayana Health City had said after the surgery.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have criticised Kejriwal and Sisodia for "being away" from the Capital at a time when it is grappling with dengue and chikungunya.

Sisodia is scheduled to return from Finland, where he had gone to understand its education system, on Sunday. Earlier this week, the Congress had observed 'Bhagoda Diwas', saying that Kejriwal and half of his Cabinet was "absent" from Delhi.